Capers of all sorts and sizes

I love my children. God has shown me what unconditional love is. He has it for me and I have it for my kids. God is patient with me and I am not so patient. I mean I wonder what in the world makes these girls tick. God already knows.

Tonight we are getting Katie to bed. Now to tell Katie to clean her room is like telling her to mess it up even more. You have to stand there and point by point tell her what to do. Here is where the no patience comes in. I either get more upset, or I walk away or worse I go in and take over. I have to. If I do not, the room will be a danger zone. Seriously. If you are missing something, go to Katie's room. Somewhere in there you will find what you are missing squirreled away.

So back to tonight, I hear Paul telling Katie to clean off her bed. (Sarah also has a room issue and the bed is my bane of contention with her. How can one sleep under books, blankets, clothes - clean and dirty - shoes, toys and who knows what else? Don't even think I approve of that but sometimes at day's end, I just want them in bed.) Katie is walking into the kitchen with crazy straws by the handful. Several trips. I decide to go in the room - even after being forewarned by my caring husband. (Today I had a long talk with God and asked Him to help me as a mother. I decided I would not let things get to me so much. I knew Satan would be all over that and throw as many curve balls at me as he could. Paul must have received a clue that I was trying to maintain today.)

I go in and it is not bad and not great. I start picking up and pointing out stuff on the bed. She has a boxed marble candle stick holder on the bed. She has a box of Aveda soaps that I got as a Christmas gift on her bed. 3 soaps. One is under her pillow unwrapped. Of course she has a sundry of toys and clothes on her bed and when I turned to the closet I looked down because something odd catches my eye. A jar of capers. A brand new jar that I bought yesterday. It has been opened and a quarter of the capers and liquid is missing.

Now, maybe this does not seem so odd but I have to say I am awestruck. I live with a pack rat. The rat from Charlotte's Web. I look to my husband and we start laughing in utter disbelief. Paul tells me he has nothing. He does not know how to manage this. I am past that.

I take the capers and leave. Kiss the child good night and walk to the refrigerator to put away the salty berries. And then I decide to type. Because frankly besides pray with which I will be doing in a bit, I just don't know.

I love that child.

I am missing a black cooking spoon. Bet it is in there. Think I'll hold off until tomorrow to look.